https://elputnam.github.io/SleepAnalysis/
I have continued tuning the Android Dream sketch, where I work with sleep data from my FitBit. With some support from the Processing Forum, I managed to debug the night cycling issue, so now the code cycles through the entire month of data, as opposed to getting stuck in a loop of the first night. This type of problem solving pushes up against the limits of my understanding of Javascript and programming. The person who assisted me in resolving this issue commented on the unconventional task it was performing, using nested loops through the draw loop as proxy. I guess that it where my interests as an artist come in. I am not so interested in making the computer perform specific tasks, but instead, figuring out how to come to particular outcome using computer code. This outcome is informed through the capacities and constraints of code, usually meaning that I am working on the limits.
I am also attempting to refine the style of the design. I replaced the random placement of squares with the “grid” from Pixel Flare, though I changed the interactive hue shift to just black and white. I am still considering adding an interactive element to the sketch, though there is already quite a bit going on — I fear to do so will just overdo it.
I still experience hesitance at adding text. Generally it is not something I do in my work, since to add text provides a literal meaning and influences interpretation. However, since I created Displacement, I have been more conscientious of the browser as medium, which means such works are generally experienced outside the gallery context. The challenge becomes how to introduce traction through text without over influencing the interpretation. Here, I find myself turning to poetry, thinking specifically of Jeneen Naji’s recent book Digital Poetry. As a performance artist, I have been drawn to metaphor and the distillation of ideas to certain symbolic actions, gestures, or objects. I am now engaging with text as another such means of expression. The short poem, “Sleep Between Disrupted Dreams” cycles through fully once, and then begins at random points. I appreciate the capacities of code to produce a dynamic presentation of the text, which combined with the cycling of data produces a experience of viewing that differs with each engagement.